Thursday, Jan 09, 2003
Thursday, Jan 09, 2003 |
| International | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | International
By V.S. Sambandan
"There is a difference of opinion between the Government and the Tigers on the sub-committee for de-escalation and normalisation (SDN)", Colombo's chief negotiator, G.L. Peiris, told journalists today. On Tuesday, the LTTE's chief negotiator, Anton S. Balasingham said the SDN was suspended and the Tigers would not participate in its next meeting, scheduled for January 14. The deadlock remained unresolved at the end of the day, with the LTTE firm on its position that it considered the SDN suspended. "It is not a mutually agreed upon position,'' Prof. Peiris said, adding that the Government would "assert its own position when circumstances require from time to time''. Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary, Austin Fernando, and the LTTE's military commander for two eastern districts, V. Muralitharan (a.k.a. `Col'. Karuna) head the SDN. Despite contentious issues and ominous signs during earlier monthly talks, such as the 200-year death sentence on the LTTE leader, V. Prabakaran, just before the second session commenced, the two sides had maintained common public positions. This time, however, the LTTE has taken serious objection to it being called "terrorists'' by the Jaffna army commander, in a proposal which linked resettlement of the internally displaced persons to disarming and de-commissioning of the LTTE. The SDN is the most sensitive operational mechanism in the present peace process as it touches upon the key issues of the LTTE's military structure. The Tigers, who see their armed presence as the ``bargaining power'' in talks with the Government, have maintained that issues such as de-commissioning can be considered after a permanent solution is reached. In his sharpest criticism yet of a representative of the Sri Lankan state during the current talks, Mr. Balasingham on Tuesday described the Jaffna commander, Sarath Fonseka, as "intransigent'' and "paranoid'' and saw no point in continuing in the SDN as long as Maj. Gen. Fonseka was in it. Emphatic that the Government would not abandon the SDN route, Prof. Peiris said: "we do not agree to the disbanding or suspension of the SDN''. However, as a key member of the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration, which has staked its political fortunes in the fledging negotiations, Prof. Peiris was quick to emphasise that this difference "will not affect'' the peace process. The two sides "will continue to work'' despite differences "which will manifest from time to time, naturally and inevitably'', he said, downplaying the deadlock. ``That is to be expected. In the course of a negotiation like this, obviously there is going to be difference of opinion. If you agree on everything, then there is no need for a negotiating process. This is not the first, it won't be the last'', he said. On Tuesday, Prof. Peiris saw the issue of resettling refugees inside the island's northern High Security Zones as a problem, "daunting in its proportions''. Today he did not view the differences over the SDN as one that would disrupt the peace process. "It is not an all-encompassing problem'' but was "relatively small in its dimension.'' Citing the "nature of discussion that took place'' during the day and "the outcomes that have come out of it'' as "proof'', Prof. Peiris said, "it is important not to blow it up''.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
